This is the moment an excavator shattered the windows of Ai Weiwei's largest studio while workers hustled away his art, preparing to demolish the old Beijing factory three years after the artist and government critic left China.

As dusk descended on the old car parts factory on the outskirts of the capital, shirtless, sweating labourers packed large wooden crates filled with artworks onto a truck bed.

Hours earlier, Ai, who now lives in Berlin, had posted videos on Instagram showing several men looking on from inside the hollowed-out brick and concrete building as a backhoe went to work.

This is the moment an excavator shattered the windows of Ai Weiwei's largest studio while workers hustled away his art, preparing to demolish the old Beijing factory three years after the artist and government critic left China

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The artist helped to design the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium for the 2008 Beijing Games, but fell out of favour following his criticism of Chinese leadership.

He was detained for 81 days in 2011 amid a crackdown on government critics. His passport was confiscated and he moved to Berlin after it was returned to him in 2015.

A general view of Ai Weiwei's installation work 'Law of the Journey' in Sydney, Australia

The artist was detained for 81 days in 2011 amid a crackdown on government critics. Pictured: Workers dismantle pipes near art works in Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's studio

Several workmen look on from outside the hollowed-out brick and concrete building as a backhoe goes to work

Ai wasn't overly angry about the demolition, as the rental contract for the space had expired last autumn, said Ga Rang, an assistant who has worked for 10 years alongside the artist.

But it 'simply wasn't possible' to move out at the time due to the vast quantity of things stored in the space, Ga said.

Ga managed the hangar-sized space in the Left Right Art District, where Ai had worked since 2006.

'They came and started knocking down the windows today without telling us beforehand. There's still so much stuff inside,' said Ga.

As dusk descended on the old car parts factory on the outskirts of the capital, shirtless, sweating labourers packed large wooden crates filled with artworks onto a truck bed

They had been warned that the move needed to happen within days, but had not been told when the wrecking machines would appear.

'The authorities say they want to develop things here, build malls and commercial buildings. But it's a shame - you won't ever find a place in Beijing like this again,' he said.

'Mr. Ai made countless works in this space - a lot of his iconic works were all made here.'

Work from Ai's first solo show in his home country - a reconstructed Ming dynasty temple, rebuilt with all its 1,500 parts in a Beijing gallery in 2015 - stood packed up in boxes in the middle of the window-lined studio amid broken glass and timber.